U.S., allies conduct 16 air strikes in Iraq, six in Syria

Reuters Staff

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A F/A-18E/F Super Hornets of Strike Fighter Attack Squadron 211 (VFA-211) is lined up for take off on the flight deck of the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) aircraft carrier in the Gulf June 18, 2015.Hamad I Mohammed

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. and coalition forces targeted the Islamic State on Friday with 16 air strikes in Iraq and six in Syria, the U.S. military said in a statement on Saturday.

In Iraq, one strike hit a checkpoint for the Islamic State and also destroyed a storage container near Al Qaim, according to the statement.

Striking a checkpoint is intended "to reduce their ability to restrict the movement of, and extort from, the population in Daesh-held areas," said Colonel Wayne Marotto, chief of public affairs for the Combined Joint Task Force, in the statement, referring to the militant group as "Daesh."

The brunt of the force, though, was near Mosul, where six strikes hit a tactical unit, staging area and tank, while destroying a heavy machine gun and Islamic State building. There were also strikes near Baiji, Falluja, Makhmur, Ramadi, Sinjar and Tal Afar.